THE UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN’S INDEPENDENT STUDENT NEWSPAPER SINCE 1969 Volume XLIV, Issue 95
Tuesday, March 19, 2013
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Blank recommended for chancellor Students, higher education expert weigh in on benefits and drawbacks of economic background Tara Golshan Deputy News Editor For many on campus, Rebecca Blank, acting U.S. Secretary of Commerce, was an economically-focused choice for the University of Wisconsin’s chancellor recommendation, an angle that has raised some concern for the future of the university. After 13 members of UW’s Associated Students of Madison released their endorsement for chancellor finalist Michael Schill, University of Chicago Law School dean and professor, late last week, UW System President Kevin Reilly announced the special committee’s recommendation of Blank for the position Monday. Sarah Mathews, UW senior and Wisconsin Union President, said such a difference in selection shows a “degree of disconnect between what the students want and what the administration wants.” “As a student, I did not hear endorsement for anyone except for Schill,” Mathews said. “I thought it was an interesting choice.” Schill, Mathews said, may have been seen to be too “high risk, high reward” for the administration, adding that Blank was the “safer choice.” Many, including Reilly and UW System spokesperson David Giroux, attributed the
Andy Fate The Badger Herald
After a lengthy search and screen process, a UW System special committee recommended acting U.S. Secretary of Commerce to take the helm as the next UW chancellor starting in July.
Pending final Regents vote April 5, Blank will leave Obama’s cabinet to succeed Ward one of four finalists for the position, would replace Interim Chancellor David Ward in July. In a UW statement she said she is honored to be recommended for the position. She is currently in Brazil as acting U.S. Secretary of Commerce. “I am honored and delighted to be offered the job of Chancellor at UW-Madison,” Blank said in the statement. “This is a world-class school, and I have been continually impressed by the caliber, dedication and
Muge Niu Higher Education Editor University of Wisconsin System’s president and a special committee recommended Rebecca Blank, acting U.S. Secretary of Commerce, as UW’s new Chancellor in an announcement Monday. The UW System Board of Regents will vote on the recommendation by UW System President Kevin Reily and the special committee on April 5. If approved, Blank, who was
enthusiasm of its students, faculty and staff.” By taking the position, Blank will leave her cabinet position under President Barack Obama’s administration. According to a statement released by The White House, Obama finds Blank to be a strong recommendation for the position. “A tireless advocate for American businesses, Becky has helped increase our competitiveness, and bring good-paying jobs back to our shores,”
Obama said in the statement. “I know the University of Wisconsin Badgers will have an outstanding chancellor to come.” Blank’s recommendation also received Gov. Scott Walker’s attention, who said Blank was a “great pick” for the university due to her strong credentials, in statement. Walker added Blank’s knowledge of economic issues will help
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selection to Blank’s expansive economic background, adding they they hope her experience would show results in Wisconsin’s economy. Blank, who visited campus last week, said that her first priority as chancellor would be to balance UW’s budget. She added that although she promotes UW’s accessibility, she is not opposed to raising out-of-state tuition. However, according to UW professor of higher education Clifton Conrad, who finds Blank to be “very sensitive to money and financing,” UW should be very wary of “using tuition as a major vehicle” in response to reduced state funding. “[Tuition] cannot be the epicentre of moving to a more private model,” Conrad said. “Lets not close that gap.” As a national university, UW thrives from having people from other states and around the world, Conrad said, expressing his mixed feelings about transforming the university into a “quasi-public” institution. ASM Chair Andrew Bulovsky released a statement serving as the summation of students’ impressions and showing students were concerned about Blank’s dedication to the accessibility of UW. Mathews, who said Blank did not fully disclose her
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Walker says he is not ruling out presidency Governor voices tentative interest in race, but says focus is Wisconsin Noah Goetzel State Politics Editor With speculations on who will run for president in 2016 already underway, Gov. Scott Walker said Friday he might be interested in becoming a candidate and will not rule out the possibility of his own run. Walker told Politico that if he is re-elected as governor, he would not commit himself to a second four-year team. He added he may “possibly” be interested in courting the position and is “not ruling it out.” “For me, it’s really a measure of what I’ve accomplished and what more I could accomplish if I was in a different position,” Walker said. According to
a collaborative Washington Times and Conservative Political Action Conference 2013 Straw Poll, Walker was the sixth-mostpopular Republican candidate for president at the conference. He captured support from five percent of the nearly 3,000 CPAC registrants surveyed, placing him just behind U.S. Rep. Paul Ryan, R–Janesville. Still, Walker deemphasized his potential run for the White House, telling the Associated Press he loves being governor and is not running for any other job. He told the AP in February the presidential bid “would be an option,” while he is not “actively pursuing” it. University of Wisconsin political science professor Barry Burden said the governor’s wavering approach of avoiding commitment is exactly the path he should take. “He’s saying all the
right things,” Burden said. “This is what you have to do. He has another election here coming up in a little more than year and a half. If he doesn’t win that, I think the presidency is completely off the table.” Burden said Walker is remaining uncommitted in his White House ambitions because he would not want to send the message to Wisconsin voters he is looking past his gubernatorial re-election. Walker must instead maintain a “one game at a time” approach, Burden added. The 2014 gubernatorial election could present problems for Walker, according to Burden. Wisconsin’s economy is not thriving, especially in terms of his original election campaign pledge to help the state add 250,000 private sector jobs during his first term in office,
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Jen Small The Badger Herald
A panel including Ald. Scott Resnick, District 8 met Monday to speak on campus safety. Topics included sexual assault, theft and alcohol abuse on campus.
City, UW officials address campus safety in forum Stephanie Awe Reporter University of Wisconsin students and community members learned about campus safety and how to prevent and act in dangerous situations from a panel of city and campus
officials at a meeting Monday night. The panel included Madison Police Department officials, a city alderman and representatives of UW campus organizations addressed issues related to sexual assault, alcohol abuse and thefts in Madison.
Jessica Dattalo, a peer facilitator with Promoting Awareness, Victim Empowerment, said one of the biggest issues on campus is sexual assault and getting consent.
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PETA, university continue to stand at odds over USDA report Muge Niu Higher Education Editor University of Wisconsin researchers and People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals continue to stand at odds concerning the cause of a federal agency investigation that resulted in a citation because the treatment of a cat in an experiment at a UW lab. A UW research lab did not appeal a citation by the United States Department of Agriculture after inspectors found a case of a cat
suffering a burn when the chemical hand-warmer used to keep the cat warm fell off during a surgery last April. Eric Sandgren, UW’s Research Animal Resource Center director, said the university has been transparent about the standing citation and posted the USDA report on the university website as soon as they learned that the appeal had failed. He added that he did not think the citation should stand because appropriate steps have been taken and
new guidelines were put in place after the accident. “The bottom line is that, yes we made a mistake. That’s been posted on our website for two weeks, right after we got the citation from USDA. I don’t know why PETA all of a sudden is bringing it up,” Sandgren said. UW received two citations during the investigation in December and successfully appealed one, he added. PETA spokesperson Jeremy Beckham said the report was obtained through
the Freedom of Information Act and confirmed PETA’s allegations of “unrelieved, ongoing suffering of cats” in the UW lab. Beckham also said the university has been falsely claiming to be free of all citations from USDA even though it had been notified in December and has been appealing the citations for two months. “They knew that they were cited right when the inspector was on campus last December…and they just lost their appeal,” Beckham said.
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“For the past three months, the [University of Wisconsin] has been lying about what happened with the USDA investigation.” The USDA investigation report from last December, which is on the university website, labels the investigation a “routine investigation.” According to Sandgren, the report would have labeled it a “focused investigation” if it had been a response to PETA’s second set of complaints filed last year.
“The USDA did not separate us,” Sandgren said. “PETA is being very disingenuous. That was not a response to their allegations at least to the best of our knowledge.” PETA filed two separate complaints against the university, one last April and another last December. UW received no citation from USDA from the focused investigation in response to the first set of complaints. “USDA did not find merit
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